Better Business Bureau launches charity review program

The Better Business Bureau serving Northern Colorado and Wyoming launches this month a Center for Nonprofit Excellence and formal charity review program.

Carrie Rossman, director of the BBB Institute for Marketplace Trust locally, said the center’s charity review will put nonprofits to the test of 20 stringent standards in four categories: governance and oversight, measuring effectiveness, financials and fund raising and informational materials.

Examples include ensuring a board of directors has no fewer than five voting members, that an organization assess its performance and effectiveness every two years, that at least 65 percent of total expenses are spent on program activities and that any promotional materials are truthful.

“They’re stringent standards but we believe a charity — if they have a quality board and staff — should not find these standards challenging,” Rossman said. “We really view this as a set of best practices. Meeting and working towards (the standards) can put them on a launching pad for collaboration and raising more dollars.”

The review is free to nonprofit organizations, which are considered accredited upon completion of the 20 standards. A licensing fee is required for any organization using the BBB seal. Rossman said the fee is variable according to nonprofit size, but starts around $150.

Reviewing charities is nothing new to the longstanding organization, which began more than a century ago. Rossman said the newly formed Center for Nonprofit Excellence is one of three programs in the Institute for Marketplace Trust, formerly known as the BBB Foundation. The Center for Fraud Prevention launched last fall. The Center for Character Ethics launched this spring.